On February 15, Love Island host Caroline Flack died by suicide. Her death came during a public legal battle after she was charged with assault by beating in a domestic incident at her home in December 2019.
Though she and boyfriend Lewis Burton denied the reports, Caroline stepped down from Love Island as host of its winter season, which is currently airing following a two-day hiatus in observance of her passing. Now her family has released an unpublished social media post written by Caroline.
"So many untruths were out there, but this is how she felt and my family and I would like people to read her own words," Chris Flack, Caroline's mother, told local newspaper Eastern Daily Press. "Carrie was surrounded by love and friends, but this was just too much for her."
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In the Instagram statement, which EDP says Caroline was ultimately told not to publish, she denies the assault and says the night in question was an accident.
"Within 24 hours, my whole world and future was swept from under my feet and all the walls that I had taken so long to build around me, collapsed. I am suddenly on a different kind of stage and everyone is watching it happen," Caroline wrote, according to the message published by EDP, later adding, "I've been having some sort of emotional breakdown for a very long time."
"The problem with brushing things under the carpet is....they are still there and one day someone is going to lift that carpet up and all you are going to feel is shame and embarrassment," Caroline wrote. "The reason I am talking today is because my family can't take anymore. I've lost my job. My home. My ability to speak. And the truth has been taken out of my hands and used as entertainment."
The final words of the message are about the toll the media storm has taken not just on her career, but her entire life.
"I'm not thinking about 'how I'm going to get my career back.' I'm thinking about how I'm going to get mine and my family's life back," she wrote. "I can't say anymore than that."
In a previous statement to Refinery29, a spokesperson for ITV said, “Everybody at Love Island and ITV is shocked and saddened by this desperately sad news. Caroline was a much loved member of the Love Island team and our sincere thoughts and condolences are with her family and friends.”
If you are thinking about suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or the Suicide Crisis Line at 1-800-784-2433.